South East Asia

Archbishop Julian Leow, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia calls for respect for the rights of religious minorities. A a Catholic newspaper has lost a legal appeal to continue to use the Bahasa language word for God, which the majority of Malaysian Catholics have done for centuries. None the less, Archbishop Leow says […]

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar is committed to solving problems of religious conflict in his country. He suggests that this will take time, and a good spirit. Are we sometimes impatient and tempted to simplistic solutions in the face of complex and longstanding problems? How might the spirit in which action is taken […]

Archbishop Julian Leow Beng Kim of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia said at his installation, that Malaysia stands at a crossroads. It’s story, he said, should not be “about competing with each other, to see who is first, who is more superior or who is more successful, but our strength as a nation is gauged by how […]

The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines says that the independence of the judiciary is important for safeguarding people’s rights. His statement is here. How might political pressure on judges compromise people’s human rights? How should members of the judiciary be held accountable? Do you think the separation of legislative, executive and […]

The Catholic Bishops of the Kachin and Shan states in Myanmar have called all parties to the conflict there to resume talks for peace. Read more here. The principle of subsidiarity suggests that matters should be dealt with as close as possible to the grassroots and that more overarching bodies should only get involved where […]